EZI English / Hojunara English

Wow….. this is such a commonly asked question. And boy can it be confusing. But with practice, these things become (mostly) automatic.

That said, these will take LOTS of practice, so hope this helps:

1 – We use a or an the first time we mention something. When we mention it again, we use the.

eg. I saw a beautiful vase in an antique shop a few days ago. When I went back to the shop yesterday the vase wasn’t there any more!

2 – We do not use the:

a) when we talk about people or things in general eg. Dogs make very good pets.

b) with the names of people and countries eg. American people eat a lot of fast food.

c) with many place names

eg. Continents – Asia, Africa Countries – South Korea, Australia Cities – Seoul, Sydney Lakes – Lake Griffin Mountains – Mount Fuji

Roads/Streets – Oxford Street Island – Jeju Island, Hamilton Island

3 – We use the:

a) with some place names:

eg. Oceans and seas – the Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea Rivers – the River Danube, the Nile River Mountain ranges – the Himalayas, the Alps

Countries which are republics or unions – the United Kingdom (the UK), the United Arab Emirates (the UAE) Regions – the Middle East

b) with superlatives eg. the longest river in the world

c) when there is only one of something eg. the Sun, the Earth, the Moon, the sky, the Pope

4) Other phrases with the:

at the bottom, at the top / in the east, in the west, in the south, in the north / in the centre, in the middle / in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening / on the left, on the right / on the coast, on the border

5) Other phrases without the:

at home, at school, at university, at work / at night / in bed, in hospital, in jail / on holiday